Episode 9
“Beep.”
‘I’m done talking now.’
As I hopped down from his shoulder and onto the floor, he looked at me and said,
“It seems like you had a busy day. Me too, Lily.”
“Chirp?”
Forgetting my situation in this peaceful life, I asked back. Cesar chuckled and said,
“I heard Sylvia was invited by the Crown Prince and went boating.”
“…Beep.”
‘That doesn’t sound like a good thing.’
Red warning bells rang inside me.
“And recently, I’ve seen someone I don’t recognize hanging around Sylvia. Do you know what I should do about this, Lily?”
‘Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone reconciled and found new relationships…? After helping this poor bird become human, give her some jewels and send her off…’
“I’ve been in a very bad mood lately. Why are other guys flocking around her? I want to kill them all.”
Cesar’s voice was cold. My eyes widened.
‘Save me. I feel like I’m walking on thin ice!’
Just then, I heard the ticking of the clock. Fortunately, he was busy with work, so he left the greenhouse at a set time.
I was about to breathe a sigh of relief. If it weren’t for the words he muttered as he left.
“If you’re asleep again next time, I’ll put you in the place where I keep the rampant monsters.”
“Beep, Beep…?”
‘What did you just say…?’
Thud.
Along with the sound of the door closing, I heard the toll of a bell, as if announcing my tragic fate.
Ding, ding. My neck, also ding-dong, severed.
“Beep!”
‘That vengeful villain!’
I cursed my owner repeatedly and then turned my thoughts to the annex.
“Chirp!”
‘Let’s go to the annex and find out his past or some weakness. I have to survive first. I definitely don’t want a fun cage life with monsters!’
A determined chirp filled the dark greenhouse.
After enjoying a delicious meal in the kitchen, I diligently flew here with my small wings. Fortunately, Mariette was nowhere to be seen.
“Beep.”
‘No matter how much I look, I can’t figure out what happened here. Why did she tell me not to come in?’
I heard the creaking sound of the swing. Post-meal drowsiness washed over me.
I wanted to fall asleep peacefully like this. But I shook my head and came to my senses. I didn’t want to be caught sleeping somewhere and end up in a horrific cage with monsters.
My gaze fell on the annex building. I wondered if I could find something if I went inside. My eyes moved past the tightly closed door to the second-floor window. I saw thin curtains fluttering slightly in the breeze.
I flapped my wings powerfully and flew towards the open window.
“Beeeep.”
‘Is anyone there?’
The interior was tidy, as if it had been maintained, despite seemingly being abandoned. It looked like someone was regularly cleaning it.
‘It seems like some servants are called in to clean it occasionally.’
I explored the inside of the annex, moving from room to room, but there was nothing particularly noticeable.
‘Why is it off-limits?’
Lost in thought, I stopped flapping my tirelessly moving wings and sat down in the hallway. The only strange thing was the lack of any signs of human life.
“Beep.”
‘Sigh, no luck today.’
Just as I was about to give up and head back to the window I had come in through, a large painting suddenly caught my eye.
“Beep!”
‘That startled me!’
Startled as if I had seen a ghost, I looked at the painting in front of me.
It depicted people wearing clothes with the Clovis family crest. Gathered together harmoniously, they were smiling like the owners of this mansion.
“Chirp?”
‘Is this Cesar’s family? Or the previous Duke’s family? But for the latter, the painting doesn’t show any signs of fading.’
With a strange feeling, I carefully examined the painting. As I increasingly leaned towards the former, I soon realized something.
“Beep?”
‘Cesar isn’t in this painting?’
“Beeeep.”
‘Strange. If it’s his family, why wasn’t Cesar in the painting? It’s strange even if it’s the previous Duke’s family.’
“Beep…”
“Lily. Why do you look so serious?”
As I was lost in thought in my greenhouse nest, Mariette spoke to me. I shook my head, afraid she would find out I had been to the annex a few times.
“Chirp. Chirp.”
“Are you avoiding me because you think you’ll get caught for doing something wrong?”
“Beep!”
‘N-no! Of course, I did sneak in and out a few times, but I didn’t do anything suspicious!’
“You know, there have been sightings of a strange shadow going in and out of the annex recently.”
“Beep, Beep.”
‘I wonder who it is? I don’t know anything.’
“I told you not to go to the annex, Lily! Did you find a good napping spot there? You’ll get scolded by the Duke if you’re not careful.”
Mariette tapped my beak and sighed. Then, she explained,
“The annex is where the Duke lived when he was young. After the previous Duke and Duchess passed away in an accident, it’s where the young Duke was left alone.”
“Beep?”
“The young Duke wasn’t old enough to inherit the title. So, the Dukedom fell into someone else’s hands, and even the current annex was almost taken away later. He eventually returned and reclaimed it… but honestly, I don’t know. Why he keeps the annex when he has no good memories of it.”
‘I see. Then the people in that painting are the ones who took the Dukedom and became the temporary owners of the mansion? That explains why Cesar wasn’t in the painting.’
As I nodded, piecing together the puzzle, Mariette chuckled.
“You really seem to understand. Lily, if you keep going there, I’ll be the one who gets scolded.”
“Beep…”
“You have to be good today. Okay?”
“Beep.”
“Such a good girl.”
As I rubbed my face against her hand affectionately, Mariette got up. Having heard about the past associated with the annex, I quietly pondered.
‘Why does Cesar keep the annex from his scorched childhood, where he was all alone, instead of getting rid of it? I don’t understand. But it bothers me. The thought of him being so lonely as a child…’
“Beep.”
Despite Mariette’s warning, I came here again. Hearing that story made me toss and turn all night.
I saw the beautiful sunset. Perhaps it was because I had visited several times, but the scenery of the annex was becoming familiar. I fluttered over and sat on the swing, and the desolate garden came into view.
What kind of time did Cesar spend in a place like this? Was his obsession with Sylvia also because of his past?
‘Sigh. But what can a small bird do? Even though I know his past, it doesn’t seem relevant to my survival. It would be better if I didn’t make him dislike me by prying too much.’
“Chirp.”
‘Let’s go back to the cage.’
Unlike when I had come here with lingering attachment, I flapped my wings, worried that Cesar would catch me here.
But a long shadow fell behind me.
“I was wondering where you disappeared to. Were you here playing, Lily?”
My body froze at Cesar’s voice.
“Chirp, Chirp…”
“Do you really want to go into the cage with the monsters?”
“Beep!”
‘No! Of course not!’
Startled, I ruffled my feathers and blinked. Cesar’s expression didn’t look good. Realizing my mistake, my tail feathers twitched nervously.
“Do you like the swing?”
“Chirp?”
‘This swing? I do like it.’
I nodded cautiously. But Cesar’s approaching expression still looked grim. I squeezed my eyes shut, anticipating something bad.
However, contrary to my expectations, he gently placed me on his palm.
“…I used to spend time on this swing when I was young. They found me annoying in the annex, so it was better to be here alone.”
“Beep.”
“I felt at ease when I was kicked out of the annex. I could learn magic without being watched, and it was easier to reclaim the Dukedom later.”
It was strange that he, who usually didn’t talk much, was telling me his story. He spoke indifferently, but his expression, visible in the setting sun, looked somewhat lonely.
“I didn’t think I’d get sentimental. Seeing myself talking like this, I must have wanted to waste some time.”
Saying that, Cesar seemed to be leaving the annex without hesitation.
As I stared up at him, my vision blurred, and tears welled up and flowed.
Seeing me like this, Cesar stroked my head.
“…Why are you crying?”
“Beep, Chirp.”
Tears continued to stream down my face. I felt the droplets seeping between my feathers.
I rubbed my head against Cesar’s hand in his palm. His warm touch seeped through my feathers. My pink feathers were beautifully dyed in the sunset hues.
“You feign illness, you cry, you’re so unpredictable. Are all birds like this?”
“Beep…”
‘You’re too insensitive. How can I not cry when you look so lonely? Besides, I’ve always been a crybaby.’
As if comforting me, his hand wiped my tear-stained eyes. I felt the sunset fading and the dark night approaching. As I looked at him with tears streaming down my face,
His slightly upturned lips caught my eye. A strangely gentle and kind voice reached my ears.
“But what kind of trick did you use on me that makes me not feel bad, strangely?”
The swing creaked in the wind, and a fragment of someone’s true feelings was revealed. Was today a strange day? I felt as if I had glimpsed a piece of Cesar’s heart.
A man who hated losing Sylvia and would do anything to gain her love. The sub-male lead who would join hands with the Second Prince and start a rebellion, only to meet his demise in the end.
He was clearly just a character in a novel, but the figure I saw today was just a lonely and desolate person, and my heart went out to him.